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Sept. 22, 1925.

P. B. NEwKlRK MOTOR vEHIcLa TRANs'uI'ssIoN lmcmmxsu 4 Sheets- Sheet 1 Original Filed llarch 4, 1922 Ill/ PERRY B. HEWKIQK.

- g 16.174- P. B. NEWKIRK S ept. 22, 1925.

MOTOH VEHICLE TRANSIISSIQN IBQHANISII Original Filed Hugh 4",. 1922 4 Sheds-Sheet .2

Wm PERRY 'B. NEWKIQK.

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' Sept. 22; 1925,

P. a. NEWKIRK MOTOR VEHICLE TRANSMISSION MECHANISM Original Filed March 4, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Sum/mm PERRY B. HEWKIQK.

Sept. 22, 1925.

- P. B. NEWKIRK MOTOR VEHICLE TRANSMISSION IECHANISI 4 $heets-Sheet 4 .bri inal Filed larch 4 1922 Reissued Sept. 22, 1925.

UNlT-ED- STATES EEEEY B.

R... 16,174 PATENT OFFICE.

NEWKIRK, or SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, AssroNoa Y mEsNE AssroNm NTs,

To ELMER H. SCHWARZ, TRUSTEE, E EoET LEE, NEW JERSEY.

MOTOR-VEHICLE TRANSMISSION MECHANISM. a

Original No. 1,417,406, dated May 23, 1922 Serial- No. 540,950, filed March 4, 1922. Application for reissue filed Jul 3, 1922.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PERRY B. NEWK RK, a citizen'of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of WVashington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Motor-Vehicle of the traction wheels-when an obstacle or uneven road surface is encountered.

The mechanical principle involved has long been known and various attempts have been made to utilize it in the propulsion of vehicles employing. chain and sprocket drive but in so far as I am aware, prior to my invention no one has devised means whereby this principle could be employed in com nection with driving or live axles completely enclosed within a housing. The enclosed driving axle with its differential gear connection to the drive-shaft has so many advantages over all other types, such as the chain drive, that it has rendered all others practically obsolete.

A motor-truck embodying my invention is particularly advantageous when pulling a heavy load or whenthe machine is mired, since the weight and driving power are then automatically thrown forward of the 'center of the wheels, and the weight is first gradually lifted and then added to the tractive or rolling effort of the engine to carry the vehicle out of a rut or over an obstruction. In effect, therefore, this gives an additional leverageto the driving power of themachine to turn the wheels.

In the following description I shall refer to the accompanying drawings, in which-'- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a motor truck equipped with my driving mechanism; Fig. 2 is a partial transverse vertical sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the relative movement of the live axle and vehicle body with respect to the dead axle and Serial No. 572,747.

wheels when an obstacle is encountered; Fig. 5 is a sectional View on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line 66 of Fig.2; Fig. 7' is a partial longitudinal view, partly in section, of a modified arrangement of the driving axle; and Fig. 8 is a detail view ofone of the main springs showing its connection with the live axle housing.

The rear end of frame 10 of the truck body or chassis is supported upon the main springs 12, preferably by means of shackles 14, and the springs are rigidly secured at their centers to the live axle housing 15, so

that the latter is prevented from any turning movement and maintains the same axial positionat all times with relation to the veicle body. The importance of this feature will be pointed out hereinafter, In Fig. 8 I have illustrated a form of spring and the manner of attaching it to the axle housing which I have devised for use in connection with my transmission mechanism. Each leaf ofthe spring 12, is bowed or arched at the center to form a seat for the axle housin' 15, and the latter is provided with lugs 1 projecting upon opposite sides at the proper angle to form bearing supports for the spring which is rigidly secured by inverted U-bolts 18 which'pass through ap ertures in the lugs.

The traction wheels 20 are mounted upon bearings 21 carried upon either end of the dead axle 23, the internal gear ring 25 and brake drum 26 being secured to the web of the wheel by bolts 27. The inner side of the brake drum is closed by a plate 29 which. may be integral with the hanger 30 freely mounted upon the dead axle 23 and which carries the bearings 32 for the ends of the live axle housing. The weight of the truck body which is supported by the springs upon the, axle housing 15 is thus transferred through the hanger SO to the dead axle 23 to which the traction. wheels are secured.

The transmission of power from the engine through the power shaft 35 and its driving pinion 36 and through the dider- 'ential transmission 38 to the jack-shafts 40 and. 40. carrying pinions 42 at their outer ends which mesh with the internal gears 25 upon the traction wheels will be understood by engineers and thosefamiliar with motor connected to the load-sustaining or dead axlemember so that the entire axle "is a 43 to which t vehicles 'without further explanation.

will be noted that the transmission gearing may be removed en bloc from its housing 40 after the traction wheels have been removed to allow the jack-shafts to be slid outwardly.

It is merely necessary then to take off the" unit and all strains and loads imposed upon the several members are properly taken care of, at the same'timerelieving the live axle members, of' the load-sustaining strains and the deflection and vibration resulting therefrom. j V

The operation of my improved axle construction will be understood. from the forc ing description of the structural parts.

en the vehicle is standing still or is pulling a light load over a good road, the ,han

rs 30Ywill depend vertically and'the driving inions 42 will be in the ition' indicated in Fig; 3 directly belowt e dead axle 23. If, however, a hill is reached or the tractor enters. a rough and muddy road or encounters an obstruction, the traction wheels will immediately be retarded, resulting in arelative movementbetween the parts, the power transmitted from the engine causing the pinions 42 to gradually move forward and upward over the teeth of the internal'gear 25 which constitutes a rack for the pinion, due to its retarded movement and as a result the entire weight of the truck body and its load are-moved forwardly and upwardly'with respect to the-dead axle to a position such as indicated in Fig. 4 and in dotted lines in Fig; 1. This forward and upward movement may continue until the springs 12 engage the underside of the dead axle. The weight has thus been moved forwardly with respect to the obstacle and tends to assist by this advantageous position in'-moving the truck over the obstruction. A aim, the weight of the truck and its load w ich have been transferred to the pinions 42 by reason of -the upward swinging of the supports 30 about the dead axle, tends to cause the pinions to move downwardly again over the teeth of the internal gear and this movement is in the proper direction to assist the motive power in rolling the wheels over the obstruction. This action of the weight'ofthe load in assisting to cause power will be adde sudden torque or hammer'blows.

the wheels to climb out of the rut'or rise over the obstruction, as the case may be,

may be likened to the actionvof theparts of a treadmill in which the weight is aplied forward of the center of the mill. t is evident therefore, that whenever the rear wheels resist turning movement by reason of some exterior resistance, the turning moment devolvin upon thesame will be increased by th'e's ifting of the weight of the vehicle to the new position just re ferred, to. Such new position will be largely governed by the amount of the resistance, so that a proportionate degree of -From' a consideration of the actions and react-ions which take place as above described, itis evident that a sudden applica tion of the brake lever 48, causing the brake band 4'1 to grip the brake drum and suddenly retard the movement of the traction wheels will likewise cause the driving pinions 42 to climb upwardly alon the teeth of the internal gear ring 25 and in so doing the power of the engine will be absorbed in lifting the truck body and its load, thus; relieving the machine of any No part of the driving mechanism of the motor, clutch, transmission, universal joint, differential or driving ears can receive a sudden torque strain. ith. the motor idling and the truck in gear, the clutch may be suddenly applied without stalling the motor and without danger of stripping the gears. As a result of this almost complete absorption of shocks, trucks provided with solid tires are subject to less vibration than ordinary trucks equipped with pneumatic tires. Furthermore, on account of the yielding movement permitted to the load, slippage of the tires on the road is practically eliminated. Owing tothis fact and because of the elimination of the usual twistingmoe -ment in starting, the life of tires has been found to be practically doubled. Again, owing to the extraordinary flexibility of this axle construction, the vehicle is relieved of more than of road vibration which reduces the crystallization of all working parts of the vehicle to a minimum.

A very important feature of my invention resides in the arrangement of parts-by which I am enabled to employ the usual power transmission through differential gearing and live axles which are completely enclosed in a-housing and may thus be thoroughly lubricated or run in oil. It is evident that there must be no relative-change in position between the differential transmission and the drive shaft when the live shaft swings to one side or the other of the dead axle and the supports 30 are shifting to varying ob lique angles, since this wouldcause destruc= tive and prohibitive torsional strains. I

have overcome the diffcultie's'in this regard and am enabled to embody the heretofore known mechanical princi les involved in this axle construction by rigi ly maintaining the axle and transmission housing in fixed relation to the driving power and in alignment with the truck body. I accomplish this purpose by securing the live axle housing rigidly to the central part of the main springs, so that while the housing moves forwardly or backwardly and up or down with the truck body, it is held absolutely fixed in its relative position thereto and is mounted in bearings in thehangers so that it does not partake of any rotary or axial movementas the hangers swing about the dead axle.

I have described in detail the particular construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings for the purpose of clearly disclosing an embodiment of my invention, but it will be evident to engineers that various changes and modifications may .be made without departing from my invention.

I have shown in Fig. 7 that stub-axles 23' may be substituted for the single dead axle which may be desirable when a truck with a low body is used. In this casean additional swinging support 30 between the live and dead axles is employed.

I claim 1.v Transmission mechanism for motor vehicle, comprising a dead axle having an end bearing, a traction'wheel thereon having a concentric gear, a live axle or jack shaft provided with a pinion in mesh with said gear, a housing having bearings in which said live-axle is mounted, a swinging mounting journaled at its opposite ends upon dead axle and said housing respectively, and a vehicle support rigidly secured to said housing, whereby the latter is maintained in parallel relation with the vehicle body but may move in an arcuate path with respect to said dead axle.

2. A driving axle construction for motorvehicles comprising a dead axle having end bearings, traction wheels mounted thereon, each having concentric gears, a jack shaft carrying pinions in meshwith said gears, a jack shaft housing having bearings in which .said jack shaft is mounted, a swinging mounting between said axle and said housing rotatably carrying the housing, thereby. permitting the latter to move in an arcuate path upon opposite sides of axle, and a vehicle body mounted upon and secured to said housing, whereby the latter is maintained in parallel relation to said body.

3. A driving axle construction for motorvehicles, comprising adead axle having end bearings, traction wheels mounted thereon, each having concentric gears, a jack shaft carrying pinions in mesh with said gears, a housing having bearings in' which sald jack said- 4. A driving axle construction for motorvehicles, comprising a dead axle having end bearings, traction wheels mounted thereon, each having concentric gears, carrying pinions'at each end in mesh connected to the vehicle drive shaft, a housing having bearings in which said jack shaft is mounted, a swinging mounting between said axle and said housing rotatably carrying the housing, thereby permitting the latter to move in an .arcuate path upon 'opposite sides. of axle, and a vehicle body mounted upon and-secured to said housing,

' whereby the latter is maintained in parallel relation to said'body.

5. A driving axle construction for motorvehicles, comprising a dead axle having end bearings, traction wheels mounted thereon, each having concentric gears, a jack shaft carrying plnions in mesh with said gears, a

housing having bearings in which said jack shaft is'mounted, a swinging mounting between said axle and said housing rotatably carrying the housing, thereby permitting the latter to move in an arcuate path upon opposite sides of axle, and means for maintaining the housing parallel to the vehiclel body.

6. A driving axle construction for motorvehicles, comprising a dead axle having end bearings, traction wheels mounted thereon, each having concentric gears, a jack shaft carrying pinions at each end in mesh with said gears, and having differential gearing connected to the vehicle drive shaft, a housing having bearings in which said jack shaft is mounted, a swinging mounting between said axle and said housing rotatably carrying the housing, thereby permitting the latter to move in an arcuate path upon opposite sides of axle, and means for maintaining the housing parallel to the vehicle body.

7 A driving axle construction for motor vehicles, comprising a dead axle, a traction wheel mounted thereon having a concentric driven element, a jack or drive shaft carrying a driving element in operative relation thereto, a housing in which said jack shaft is mounted, a mounting between the axle and said shaft rotatably carrying said shaft and concentrically oscillatable about the axis of the'wheel uponeither side thereof and means for maintaining the housing parallel to the vehicle body.

' 8. A driving a veh'cles, comprising a dead axle having end bearings, traction wheels mounted thereon,

a jack shaftwith said gears, and having differential gearing x1e construction for motor each having concentric gears, a jack shaftcarrying pinions in mesh with said gears, a housing in which said jack shaft is rotatably mounted, a mounting between the axle and said housing rotatahly carrying the lat-- ter and concentrically oscillatab le about the axis ofthe traction-wheels upon either side thereof, thereby permitting said housing to move in an arcuate path upon opposite sides of the axle.

In testimony whereof, I aifix' my signature.

PERRY B. NEWKIRK. 

